Lou Xiaowu raised her arm, concealing her movement with her cloak. Before anyone could see what she did, a short arrow wrapped in blue light flew toward the source of illumination.
“Transcendent realm?” Mei Tingyuan wondered. Lou Xiaowu appeared so weak, probably even less capable than herself. She certainly couldn’t be at the transcendent level.
“I’m not telling you!” Lou Xiaowu held grudges.
Though not powerful, the arrow lodged firmly in the wall. Its tail burst like a firework with a muffled sound, igniting into a small torch that illuminated about ten feet around it.
Everyone could see a small hole, about three inches wide, emitting a faint light.
“I did that,” Lou Xiaowu sidled up to An Jiu, her eyes curving in a smile. “Aren’t I impressive?”
An Jiu, unsure how to respond to Lou Xiaowu’s plea for praise and affection, gave her an expressionless glance. She tended to be more tolerant of harmless small creatures.
Lou Mingyue, unfazed, went with Mei Tingzhu to examine the hole.
“It’s a new hole,” Mei Tingzhu said, wrapping his hand in a dark cloth and pressing the surrounding wall. “It’s a bit loose. Someone might have been fighting inside, damaging the wall.”
According to the map, the first floor of the giant tower was constructed in concentric circles, like a maze but not complex. One only needed to follow the doors to reach the center. This floor had just one door for both entry and exit, but the paths weren’t the same. It embodied profound Buddhist theories, though An Jiu couldn’t fathom its purpose.
“Fighting near the entrance? Has someone already obtained the remnant of the Celestial Book?” Qiu Yunran moved closer to examine the wall.
Lou Mingyue stepped forward, avoiding proximity to him.
Qiu Yunran smiled wryly, realizing he was being shunned by a young girl.
In the pale blue firelight, the entrance wasn’t far. Everyone stared at the dim doorway, each contemplating their next move.
From outside, the tower’s body was dotted with caves housing Buddha statues. Any of these caves could be an entrance, but the map showed only one path to the second floor, passing through the center of the first floor. The tower was enormous. If they searched for a new exit bit by bit, the remnant on the second floor might be taken before they arrived.
The allure of the Celestial Book remnant to Qiu Yunran and others was like a treasure to those who valued wealth above life. Even at the risk of death, they had to try. After a moment’s hesitation, they entered one by one.
The Celestial Book remnant wasn’t a priority for the Lou and Mei families. They just needed to choose a relatively safe path. Lou Mingyue looked at Mei Tingzhu, asking, “Which way?”
“We can’t avoid fate. Let’s follow the map,” Mei Tingzhu replied.
If the Emperor truly made his move, nowhere would be safe.
“The people who ambushed us today, aside from one transcendent expert, weren’t very skilled and seemed inexperienced in combat,” Mei Tingzhu said softly. “That’s odd, so let’s stick to our original route and deal with situations as they arise.”
If the Emperor wanted to act, shouldn’t there be countless skilled fighters ready to die for him? And they should fight to the bitter end, not retreat halfway. How could a few novices like them have survived until now?
“It’s hard to say. Our families’ influence in the Crane-Controlling Army isn’t what it used to be, but we have people in almost every unit. If anything were stirring, we’d receive some news. Perhaps His Majesty knows this and deliberately avoided the Crane-Controlling Army?” Lou Mingyue paused, then changed tack. “But I think your choice is viable. We shouldn’t panic first.”
Mei Tingjun agreed but reminded, “You just revealed Qiu Yunran’s background. That involves the ‘Secret Register.’ I think we should be more discreet.”
Being lectured in front of everyone, Lou Mingyue didn’t get angry. Instead, she smiled, “Even we youngsters know the current Emperor wants to get rid of us after using us. Would he look kindly on us if we hide? You might need to consider an escape route, but our Lou family line is already broken.”
The Lou family always bore girls. There had been no male heirs since the previous generation. This generation had only three men, all married into the family, and one had died two years ago. So comparatively, the Lou family’s clan consciousness wasn’t as strong.
An Jiu didn’t plan to act independently for now. Although she had strong spiritual power, her physical strength and inner force were far behind. Going alone was too risky.
As the group decided to enter the tower, An Jiu naturally followed.
Inside was still a narrow corridor, no different from outside, with no apparent places for ambush.
After turning a corner, they saw the beam of light. Qiu Yunran and others stood there dumbfounded until they sensed people approaching.
“Ah!” Lou Xiaowu was about to dash over but was caught by Lou Mingyue. She wailed, “Second Sister, look! The wall inside is also damaged, and it’s an even bigger hole!”
It turned out that the inner wall had a hole balancing the outer wall’s breach, with more severe damage and more light coming through.
“I just peeked through the hole. The third layer of the wall inside is also damaged. I wonder what could have such power!” Qiu Yunran sighed.
“Could it be arrows?” Mei Tingyuan suddenly remembered the arrow shot by the transcendent expert on the plank road.
There were legends of people who could punch or palm through several walls, but they were just legends. The most likely cause of such concentrated and penetrating damage was a weapon.
“What do you think?” Mei Tingyuan sought confirmation from An Jiu.
All eyes fell on An Jiu.
“What’s the point of knowing this?” An Jiu countered.
“…” Mei Tingyuan was stunned for a moment before responding, “Of course, to be more cautious!”
“Can you guard against it?” An Jiu mercilessly exposed the truth. “So what you should do is — pray you don’t encounter this person.”
If they met such an expert, they could probably only put up a token struggle. An Jiu’s earlier standoff with the transcendent expert on the plank road relied partly on luck. If that person hadn’t been so arrogant as to disregard the mountain wind, she could hardly have escaped unscathed with her abilities alone.
“The little lady has quite a personality! If only she were prettier, perhaps we could arrange a meeting someday…” a lone cultivator joked.
Lou Mingyue’s killing intent suddenly surged.
Caught off guard, the man was suddenly pressed by this enormous spiritual force. His legs weakened, and he fell straight to the ground.
Only after Lou Mingyue’s killing intent dissipated could everyone breathe again.
Qiu Yunran exclaimed, “Eighth level!”
“Once, but not twice. If there’s a third time, watch your head!” Lou Mingyue said coldly.
Joining the Crane-Controlling Army meant forfeiting a normal life, so many shadows privately formed partnerships. This was tacitly allowed in the Crane-Controlling Army. Living on a knife’s edge daily made them casual about other aspects of life, and they wouldn’t bother gossiping about such things.
These family daughters weren’t as reserved and precious as ordinary young ladies from good families, but their dignity couldn’t be trampled or ridiculed at will!
An Jiu, however, remained unmoved by any verbal attacks.
“My second sister helped you!” Lou Xiaowu broke free from Lou Mingyue’s hand and moved closer to An Jiu.
“Let’s go,” Lou Mingyue said.
Someone helped up the man still dazed from Lou Mingyue’s spiritual attack. “My brother is just a bit glib, he meant no harm. I’ll have him apologize. Please forgive us.”
Lou Mingyue nodded slightly, waiting for them to go first.
Understanding her intention, the group gradually turned and moved on. At their age, reaching the eighth level was rare. Lou Mingyue’s strength was probably the highest among those in this trial. Respect for the strong was an unwritten rule among their kind.
After turning several corners in the narrow corridor, they found corresponding holes in each wall, growing larger towards the interior. By the eleventh wall, the collapse was three feet wide, allowing people to pass through directly.
Reaching the center, where the light was brightest, everyone finally saw how brutal the battle had been—
The people seemed to have exploded. The walls were so splattered with blood that their original color was barely visible. Fragments of flesh and entrails hung everywhere, and dismembered limbs littered the ground, making it impossible to discern how many people there had been.
The scene before them left everyone momentarily stunned.
Silence reigned, broken only by the slow gathering and sliding of blood from the stone walls, dyeing the light a crimson hue.
An Jiu bent down to pick up a piece of torn cloth near her foot. Holding it up to the light, she saw half of the character “Cui,” blackened with blood.
“The Cui family…” Even Lou Mingyue’s voice trembled slightly.
An Jiu dropped the cloth and looked around.
It was an oval-shaped room, about seventy feet at its longest diameter. Over a hundred candlesticks surrounded a stone-built Buddhist shrine in the center. On the central stone platform sat a transparent box, stained with blood, emitting an eerie glow in the warm light.
The Celestial Book remnant had vanished, yet the box remained.
According to the Crane-Controlling Army leader, the Celestial Book remnant could enhance inner force, while the box could refine spiritual power. It made no sense to take the remnant but leave the box.
“What exactly is this Celestial Book remnant?” An Jiu asked Lou Mingyue.
Lou Mingyue steadied herself and exhaled. “It’s said to be a sutra enlightened by a Buddhist master who meditated in a cave for forty years. Regular reading and contemplation benefit the spiritual apertures and meridians, helping martial artists easily overcome bottlenecks. Forty-nine remnants exist in the world. The Crane-Controlling Army has collected over thirty in recent years, so it’s not surprising they’d use twelve as bait.”
“What about this box? Why didn’t others take interest in it?” An Jiu pondered, wondering if spiritual power wasn’t important.
Lou Mingyue gave her an odd look.
Mei Tingzhu continued, “This item is even rarer than the remnant! There are plenty of people whose martial arts reach the ninth level while their spiritual power remains at the third or fourth level. This shows how difficult it is to cultivate spiritual power. If spiritual power can’t keep up, one can only reach the ninth level at best, destined to be a mere warrior for life, with no possibility of entering the transcendent realm!”
Martial arts could be improved through diligent practice, but spiritual power was a mysterious thing. The effort didn’t necessarily yield results.
“It’s strange,” Mei Tingzhu frowned.
If the Emperor was targeting the descendants of the four great families, why bother taking the Celestial Book remnant?
Lou Xiaowu suddenly choked up, “Second Sister, is Cui Yichen dead too?”
Lou Mingyue was silent for a moment. Just as she was about to raise her hand to pat Lou Xiaowu’s head, the room suddenly lit up as bright as day.
Qiu Yunran cried out, “Run!”